Keep on marching straight down to the ballot box

The Register to vote is midnight tonight.  Register here: bit.ly/OBVsignup

Today, Monday 20th April 2015 is a memorable day. This is the final and irrevocable deadline to register to vote in the British General Election taking place on 7th May 2015. Today does not so much represent a deadline for voter registration, but a lifeline for a better future.

During the rule of the British Empire our countries of origin were raped of resources and denied the right to vote. Our parents fought and died for independence that would give them democracy and freedom. Furthermore, our fore-parents worked incredibly hard to build up this country. They bequeathed that legacy of to us the present generation having sacrificed so much to ensure we could secure our futures as free and equal British citizens.

All roads, schools and universities, hospitals, rail lines, motorway's, electric pylon's, all paid for through the rape of Empire. As your walk along the pavement today, catch a bus or pop into your local GP, remember you are the modern day beneficiary of the Empire.

The gift of the vote was given to you, but it is not yours to abuse, it is a gift paid for by the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors. It is a gift that you should cherish and hand down to your children, for even though you may be foolish enough to think voting does not matter, ensuring your children understand its importance is vital.

Who knows what the future may hold. In the early 1930's pre-war Berlin the Jewish community there declared that Berlin was the least anti-semitic city in Europe. The city had a international reputation for tolerance and equality, and yet when the economy crashed that city transformed from a multicultural haven of tolerance, to a Nazi hellhole almost overnight.

History teaches us that any peoples that does not defend its rights are doomed to see those rights abused, ignored or taken away. Dr King in the USA paid the ultimate price, being assassinated by a sniper's bullet as he marched for freedom and equality and died willingly to guarantee the right to vote, many more died subsequently to ensure his dream did not die.

Thats why ensuring you register to vote today, is not just some meaningless gesture, its almost a holy sacrament, a right born of pain and struggle, that needs to be accorded the highest respect possible.

You should be singing with joy as you register to vote today. The fact that you have that right, secured at great cost, means you should stride down to that ballot box on the 7th May and slam dunk your polling card into that black box with immense pride and gratitude.

Let me dispel some myths about not voting. There is no such thing, all non-votes are a positive vote in support of the status quo. A vote for more racism. more visa immigration controls, more stop and search. Thats the stone-cold reality

I've worked on election campaigns and I can tell you that when strategy is being decided and a priority list of issues and constituencies being drawn up, those with the highest voter turnout and ability to mobilise communities are the ones that are adopted as political priorities.

Last on the list are those communities who don't vote, they're inclusion then becomes a matter of whether the party or the candidate have a political commitment to these communities or an interest in their issues. The reality is most politicians look at the figures and decide to do nothing more than pay them lip service.

Voter registration and turn out is the currency of politics. It is true to say that those who don't vote, don't count.

Today is voter registration deadline. Flip that script and view today as a lifeline. Register your vote and go and kick some democratic ass. Its your right bought and paid for, and don't let anyone fool you into betraying your history and convincing you that voting doesn't count. It does and so do you.

Lee Jasper